Fire safety concerns delay Milford Township condo plan

The developer of eight duplex-style condominium units that are proposed in Milford Township plans to begin work this fall if the project gets site plan and zoning board approvals.

“We’re hoping to start moving some dirt around this year. Hopefully, we’ll be rolling out our first unit, ready to go by spring,” said Craig Piasecki, president of BPH Development.

The Andover Park project consists of four buildings with two condos each along the east side of North Milford Road, between River Oaks Drive and Rowe. Each unit would be 1,800 square feet, with two bedrooms, kitchen with wood flooring and granite counter tops, dining room, great room, two full bathrooms, a full basement and attached two-car garage.

“We’re in the $350,000 price point, but it’s not locked in yet,” Piasecki said of the purchase price.

The project received preliminary site plan approval from planning officials last month, then hit a snag at the township board meeting Sept. 20, when Fire Chief Thomas Moore said there wasn’t enough room allowed in the plans for fire trucks to turn around.

William Mazzara, trustee and board liaison to the planning commission, said it was “highly unusual” to receive site plan suggestions “this late in the game.”

“We should not be offering design suggestions to the applicant at this time,” he told the board.

Board members agreed to send the site plan back to the planning commission for a fire safety review. Mazzara suggested it be a special meeting at no cost to Piasecki.

Piasecki also will go before the zoning board Oct. 11 to request a variance.

“There are wetlands in front," he said. "We need to push (the buildings) toward the back property line.”

He said the condominium project would back up to vacant property in the adjacent development.